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Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Right, and Mathias and Byrd's high schools and conferences were/are really probably about on the same level talent wise. I think Mathias is closer to a Nik Stauskas type than Byrd. Watching Mathias on Youtube I do worry about him having the footspeed to not have to be hidden a bit defensively.

Now they really need to go full court press on getting Vince Edwards. It's down to us and Michigan, and for all the talk Painter gives us about Jay Simpson being so talented and all I'll believe it when I see it. And even if he is there's not much behind him in the coming years. Carroll is what he is, which is better than most give him credit for (but stop being scared to shoot!), and Hale really probably shouldn't be a regular rotation player, I'd be kind of surprised if he finishes out his eligibility at Purdue. Sure he was a freshman, but a 21 year old one who'd had a year in the system. Really gotta focus on swing 4s and a 5 now.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Errick Peck's planning on visiting both Duquesne and Xavier on Tuesday. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but when you're taking two visits on the same day I assume you don't take either of those schools all that seriously. Peck's nothing special, but he's an experienced rotation player that wouldn't screw with any future scholarships, can pretty easily play the 4 in Painter's motion. Would gladly take him for next year.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Dave Telep on Mathias

Mathias is vanilla in his approach to recruiting and was intent on ending it early. Why? Because from what I can tell, the only thing important to him is improving.

Some of us were fortunate enough to grow up with a basket in the backyard. Mathias, meanwhile, has a whole court at home and a whiteboard, according to one coach, where he writes down his own strengths and weaknesses, plus motivators for improvement. Who doesn't want to coach a kid like this?

This past weekend at Spiece, he put a moderately talented NW Ohio Stars travel team program on his back and took it to the semifinals before Team Thad ended the run. Throughout the weekend, Mathias competed -- and I mean to the point where he would tell the coach what to run and then go out and get it done.

Guys like this have a certain will to them. Purdue fans might get caught up in the fact that Mathias is not national ranked, but that doesn't do a player like this justice. You can't quantify his intangibles, commitment to competing and basketball IQ.

Personally, I'd toss this guy into the back of the top 100 and watch his development. Recruits like this are invaluable pieces. He's not going to be Purdue's best talent, but you watch: He'll be a starter in the program and a player who raises the competition level of the team. I can't tell you he's an electric prospect or a high-riser, but when the ball gets rolled out he'll be the first one to dive on it. There's no need to over-evaluate Mathias, just let him play.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Some red flags there..."intangibles"..."committment to competing"..."basketball IQ"...these are all things people say when some dude is not that skilled...and I'm not sure how having a full court basketball court at home is some kind of achievement...lost to "Team Thad" lol....

However, if he is 6'6" and can credibly run the point, and shoot a little bit, that is a good sign...

Some red flags there..."intangibles"..."committment to competing"..."basketball IQ"...these are all things people say when some dude is not that skilled...

Funny, what you see as red flags are the same qualities whose absence i saw as the downfall of this year's squad.

Painter was able to compete with and beat major conference teams at Southern Illinois because he had kids who bought in and played hard. This season, to me, represented what happens when you chase talent instead of character. It's the same thing that happened to Weber at Illinois, just on a smaller scale.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Funny, what you see as red flags are the same qualities whose absence i saw as the downfall of this year's squad.

Painter was able to compete with and beat major conference teams at Southern Illinois because he had kids who bought in and played hard. This season, to me, represented what happens when you chase talent instead of character. It's the same thing that happened to Weber at Illinois, just on a smaller scale.

Completely agree. A team cannot be made up entirely of guys like that, but you need some. No one jumps out as a huge 'play hard' type, except maybe Davis.

Saw this, and feel like it fits: hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

Funny, what you see as red flags are the same qualities whose absence i saw as the downfall of this year's squad.

Painter was able to compete with and beat major conference teams at Southern Illinois because he had kids who bought in and played hard. This season, to me, represented what happens when you chase talent instead of character. It's the same thing that happened to Weber at Illinois, just on a smaller scale.

Of course, these things are plusses, but they are the red flags if they are the best thing you can say about someone. Tell me this doesn't apply to Travis Carroll, for example. Or Ryne Smith.

Re: Purdue 2012-2013 Athletics thread

He's pretty much a PG in size only. He basically got cut from Seattle because he wouldn't stop chucking apparently. I'm fine with him competing for playing time, but I really hope Painter didn't make any promises.